Vocal Range: A2 – G5 – B5 (E7) (3 Octaves and a major second)[1]https://therangeplanet.proboards.com/thread/281/lady-gaga
Vocal Fach: Lyric Mezzo-Soprano
Vocal Rating: Vocalist
Longest Note: 20 seconds (The Abramovic Method)
Positives: A dark, well-trained, and dynamic voice that only improved since the start of her career. While Lady Gaga received vocal training at an early age with Broadway-style teaching and has always been a gifted vocalist, her voice noticeably blossomed in preparation for her acclaimed Oscars performance in 2015.[2]Lady Gaga worked with vocal coach for six months for “Sound of Music” performance She now boasts a Classical style vibrato and delivery, with great breath support and forward placement. While this new intense sound and nasal placement can alienate some listeners because of the changes to her tone (ex. “Shallow”), it is a technically strong choice.[3]How to Sing Like Lady Gaga – Compression! Dynamic Tone & Placement Awareness by Chris Liepe[4]Vocal Analysis of Shallow – Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper by Sam Johnson
Gaga utilizes distinctive, unique vocal phrasing, that allows for her to communicate an array of emotions. She is capable of singing simple melisma, but she does not overuse the technique and focuses more on tone manipulation and delivery to impress, by distorting the sound and altering her mouth and vowel shaping.[5]In her performance of the Star-Spangled Banner for President Joe Biden’s inauguration, she utilized diphthongs heavily. Her understanding of her own voice and how to achieve different colors, tones, and textures, allows her voice to transcend through multiple genres, including balladry, dance/pop, country, jazz, and rock, never approaching one exactly the same as the other. Across genres she delivers great, lyrical legato lines as expected of her fach. Thanks to impressive breath support, she has the ability to hold notes for extended periods without wavering.
Her voice is clearly lyrical in nature given its versatility and its agile nature and is a near-perfect match for the description of the Lyric Mezzo-Soprano. It demonstrates the mournful, lachrymose quality of the fach, and is also ideal for Trouser/Breeches roles, which Gaga may even be aware of given past performances. As she possesses a dark and healthy lower register and finds her tessitura around the C5-D5 range, one can assert quite confidently that she is a Mezzo-Soprano.[6]Gaga is often identified as a contralto or alto: her voice lacks the truly androgynous quality of a contralto, although she may (theoretically) be given an alto part of she sang in a choir.
Her low notes are very dark and full, and she seems to feel comfortable approaching these notes and darkening them effectively, consistently supporting down to Eb3. She has a very relaxed and open middle register, with great control over her passaggio to create a clean sound in her phrases. Her belts are resonant and well-supported, and with the capacity to stretch up to G5 in early recordings, and up to F#5 in “Do What U Want,” although she seems to avoid going this high now. While these notes were occasionally shouty early in her career – in part due to simultaneous dance routines – she achieves these notes with a very consistent pseudo-operatic approach now. Her stamina here is also noteworthy, as she is capable of phrasing at the top of her range (see the last chorus of E5s in “Marry the Night”). While she may occasionally drop support here, she is by and large technically consistent in this part of her range.
Easily the weakest part of her range is her head voice: she solemnly uses it live (at least above E5), and lacks projection in that area. While she could almost certainly reach notes at C6 or above, she generally avoids the area as her head voice thins rather quickly and isn’t in its best light there. Although her head voice still sounds slightly disconnected from her modal voice, this issue has improved over the course of her career.
Overall Lady Gaga is rightfully regarded as one of the best Pop vocalists today. Her vocal training throughout her career and her discipline in adhering to it has helped solidify her reputation and diversify her career. While she still has some relatively minor technical imperfections, her voice will likely be preserved later in her career thanks to the steps that she has taken early on.
What do you think of Lady Gaga’s voice? Would you add anything to our analysis? Let us know by commenting below!
Lady Gaga’s vocal range is approximately three octaves, spanning A2 – G5 – B5.
Lady Gaga’s can sing approximately three octaves, spanning A2 – G5 – B5.
Lady Gaga is a Lyric Mezzo-Soprano. As she possesses a dark and healthy lower register and finds her tessitura around the C5-D5 range, one can assert quite confidently that she is a Mezzo-Soprano.
While Lady Gaga may be given alto parts if she were in a choir, she is certainly a mezzo-soprano.
References
| ↑1 | https://therangeplanet.proboards.com/thread/281/lady-gaga |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Lady Gaga worked with vocal coach for six months for “Sound of Music” performance |
| ↑3 | How to Sing Like Lady Gaga – Compression! Dynamic Tone & Placement Awareness by Chris Liepe |
| ↑4 | Vocal Analysis of Shallow – Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper by Sam Johnson |
| ↑5 | In her performance of the Star-Spangled Banner for President Joe Biden’s inauguration, she utilized diphthongs heavily. |
| ↑6 | Gaga is often identified as a contralto or alto: her voice lacks the truly androgynous quality of a contralto, although she may (theoretically) be given an alto part of she sang in a choir. |
